Antimacassar
/ˌæn.tɪ.məˈkæs.ə/ noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A cover for the back or arms of a chair or sofa.
"She was particularly fond of animals, and, besides her canary, whose cage hung on a nail in the massive wall of the keep by day, to the great annoyance of prisoners who relished an after-dinner nap, and was shrouded in an antimacassar on the parlour table at night, she kept several piebald mice and a restless revolving squirrel."
- 2 a piece of ornamented cloth that protects the back of a chair from hair oils wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"A moment later he and I were back in the front room, where the impassive lady was still quietly working away at her antimacassar."
Etymology
From anti- + macassar. Antimacassars were originally used to protect upholstery from being soiled by macassar oil in the sitter's hair.